This blog contains personal reflections on Sahaja Life by practitioners of the Sahaja technique. Sahaja is the path of enlightened knowledge, as opposed to other forms of yoga and meditation, which profess singular paths like devotion-only (bhakti path). Growth in Sahja happens by experiential knowldge acquisition.

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Wednesday, April 27, 2005

Rathadhwaja was a King, who’s forefathers had respected Goddess Laxmi but the attention on A-Laxmi (principles against Laxmi Tattwa) were on the rise. In their traditions the attention on the true Laxmi Tattwa degenerated over the generations and there came a time when the light of the blessing was nowhere. As the external events in a kingdom follow its subtle collective state, Rathadhwaja faced defeat in battles and lost all the kingdom and posessions. But his sons Kushadhwaja and Dharmadhwaja realized the subtle reason’s behind the calamity and meditated on Shri Laxmi, inviting her to grace their family again. Shri Laxmi, pleased with their realization and humility, blessed them with Her own birth in the household.

Shri Laxmi was born as a daughter to Malavati and Kushadhwaja. Being a divine personality she was full of grace and accompanied by auspicious signs during Her birth. The Vedas were on Her lips at a tender age, and hence She become reknowned as Vedavati. Being a high souled personality, she was clear about Her purpose on the earth and travelled to the holy land of Pushkara to meditate on the Highest Cause. On the other hand, through Her advent, the position of the family was restored in the world as the ruling family. During her penances and meditations a point came where She was blessed with an announcement from the heavens: “You have achieved the state where you will marry Shri Vishnu Himself, but not before being born again.” Vedavati continued her meditation, knowing Her self and Her high destiny.

It was probably the need to wait for the perfect time before the divine pair of Laxmi-Narayana came on the earth, because in the time of Her next birth She became Shri Sita who married Vishnu-incarnate Shri Rama. However, the divine play had not been over in this birth for her, as She met the asura Ravana during Her life as Vedavati.

The Ravana episode unviels reasons behind the divine play of Ramayana, where Shri Sita became the cause of Ravana’s death and destruction. Ravana was an extremely accomplished, arrogant and torturous ruler. In his power and glory he had no recognition or respect for Shri Narayana or other divine personalities. All deities were displeased with him and all creatures were oppressed by him. He collected taxes. Those who could not pay, like hermits in forests, had to pay with their flesh and blood. His rule was a reign of terror, which needed an end.

However, during the life of Vedavati, Ravana was travelling by air and made a stopover at Vedavati’s hermitage. She, bringing forth Her true gracious nature, hosted Ravana as a guest and made his visit hospitable. Seeing the absolute divine form of Vedavati, he enquired about Her life. She told him about Her nature, Her penance and Her distiny, including her future life with Shri Vishnu. Ravana, being covered in ego, laughed and derided Vedavati’s destiny. He proposed marriage to her and to make his point called the high-souled Narayana an inferior being to him. In a last attempt he tried to force Vedavati into his control by pulling Her hair, which brought Her rage forward. She declared: “You have attempted to cast your shadow over me and hence I will give up this tainted body to the hermitage fire, but I will be your cause of destruction and death, Ravana!”

Years passed and while Raja Janaka ploughed the fields during the oppressive times of Ravana-rule, he hit upon an earthen object with his plough. From the forrows of the earth came Shri Sita, with Riddhi-Siddhi on the sides. Riddhi-Siddhi dissappeared instantaneously and the true nature of Shri Sita was revealed to Raja Janaka. Later, in the swayamwara ceremony, Shri Rama married Shri Sita. But truly intriguing is the episode with Agni devata during Rama’s exile.

During the exile, when Shri Rama, Sita and Laxmana were in the forests, Shri Agni devata came forth and informed Shri Rama of the divine destiny of Ravana’s destruction. Since the true nature of Shri Sita was that of the Adishakti, Ravana cannot bear to face her. Hence, Agni devata brought forth a “Chhaya Sita” i.e. Shri Sita’s shadow for the fulfillment of the divine purpose. Shri Sita took refuge in the fire untill the task of destroying Ravana was over. Ravana took the Chhaya Sita and Shri Raama defeated him and ended his time on earth.

Shri Sita, the worldmother, returned to her original form during the “agni-pariksha”. The agni actually took away the Chaaya Sita and returned the original pure Janaki. This wonderful set of events that gives a fresh perspective on the Ramayana we have heard and seen is found between the covers of the Devi Mahatmyam.

There is an indefinable mysterious power that pervades everything. I feel it, though I do not see it. It is this unseen power which makes itself felt and yet defies all proof because it is so unlike all that I perceive through my senses. It transcends the senses. But it is possible to reason-out the existence of God to a limited extent.

Even in ordinary affairs, we know that people do not know who rules or why and how He rules. And yet they know that there is a power that certainly rules. In my tour last year in Mysore, I met many poor villagers and I found upon enquiring that they did not know who rules Mysore. They simply said, "Some God ruled it." If the knowledge of these poor people was so limited about their ruler, I, who an infinite lesser in respect to God than they to their ruler, need not be surprised, If I do not realize the presence of God, the King of Kings.

Nevertheless, I do feel as the poor villagers felt about Mysore, that there is orderliness in the universe. There is an unalterable law governing everything and every being that exists or lives.

It is not a blind law. For no blind law can govern the conduct of living beings. And thanks to the marvelous researches of Sir JC Bose, it can now be proved that even matter is life. That law, then, which governs all life is God! Law and the law-giver are one. I need not deny the law or the law-giver because I know so little about it or him. Just as my denial or ignorance of the existence of an earthly power will avail me nothing, even so my denial of God and His law will not liberate me from this oppression. Whereas humble and new acceptance of Divine authority makes life's journey easier even as the acceptance of earthly rules makes life under it easier. I do dimly perceive that whilst everything around me is ever-changing, ever-dying, there is underlying all that change, a living power that is changeless, that holds all together – that creates, dissolves and recreates. That informing power of spirit is God and since nothing else that I see merely through the senses, can or will persist, He alone is!

And is this power benevolent or malevolent? I see as purely benevolent, for I can see that in the midst of death, life persists. In the midst of untruth, truth persists. In the midst of darkness, light persists. Hence I gather that God is life, truth, light. He is love. He is the supreme good.

But, He is no God who merely satisfies the intellect, if He ever does. God, to be God must rule the heart and transform it. He must express Himself in every smallest act of His ?????. This can only be done through a definite realization. More real than the five senses can ever prove use. Sense perceptions can be and often are false and deceptive. However real they may appear to us. Where there is realization outside the senses, it is infallible. It is proved not by extreme extraneous evidence, but in the transformed conduct and character of those who have felt the real presence of God within. Such testimony is to be found in the experiences of an unbroken line of prophets and sages in all countries in time. To reject this evidence is to deny oneself.

This realization is preceded by an immovable faith. He who would in his own person, test the fact of God's presence can do so by a living faith. And since faith itself cannot be proved by extraneous evidence, the safest course is to believe in the moral government of the world and therefore in the supremacy of the moral law: The law of truth and love.

Exercise of faith will be safest – where there is a clear determination, summarily to reject all that is contradictory to truth and love. I confess that I have no argument to convince through reason. Faith transcends reason. All that I can advice is not to attempt the impossible.